Comment: The following article appeared in the Guardian of London on 15 January 2004.

Europe asks Turkey to help unite Cyprus

Turkey was warned yesterday that it will be difficult to start
long-awaited membership talks with the European Union next year if
Cyprus remains divided.

Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister and holder of the EU
presidency, and Romano Prodi, president of the European commission, both
signalled the need for a peace settlement. Technically, it is not a
condition for beginning negotiations, but is bound to play a role when
the then 25 EU leaders decide at their December summit whether to
approve the start of what will be a long process.

Mr Prodi flies to Ankara today to "repeat the strong wish of the
EU to welcome Turkey as an equal and respected member" and praise
reforms undertaken to meet the union's accession terms. The first visit
by an EC president for 40 years is intended to signal goodwill in
advance of the commission's crunch decision on whether the country of 65
million Muslims has met the so-called Copenhagen political criteria for
membership.

It will then be up to the member states to decide to start
negotiations "without delay". Britain is a keen advocate of EU
membership for an Atlanticist fellow Nato ally; so is the United States.
France is bitterly opposed, though German opposition has softened in
recent months.

Last November the commission saw "significant progress" by the
moderate Islamist government of Recep Tayib Erdogan, but said more
needed to be done on the independence of the judiciary, human rights,
and the Kurds.

"There has been huge progress but we will also look at the
question of implementation of legislation," Mr Prodi said in the
European parliament.

Mr Ahern said: "It's a reality that the perception is that if we
made progress in Cyprus, it would be very helpful.""